In January 2023, a daycare center in Fort Worth, Texas, assigned a group of children to an unqualified caregiver. The caregiver failed to follow many state-mandated childcare requirements, including limiting the number of children under her watch, which led to a young boy being able to wander away unnoticed from the daycare center’s premises.
Luckily, he was found in the neighborhood near the Fort Worth daycare center by a kind woman who contacted the Fort Worth Police Department.
Once the mother was notified and the little boy was found, she contacted our North Texas daycare injury lawyers at The Button Law Firm. Our legal team held the Fort Worth daycare center accountable for its negligence and the numerous ways it ignored daycare safety laws, also known as the minimum standards, that led to the wandering incident. The boy and his family won a settlement to help provide resources for the boy to heal properly and help the entire family move forward.
How the Fort Worth Daycare Center Failed the Boy and His Family
Daycare wandering incidents can be dangerous for toddlers. When children leave a daycare facility unnoticed, like the little boy in this case, it puts them at risk of being seriously injured. They could drown if water is nearby, get hit by a car, or even be kidnapped. That is why the responsibility falls on daycare centers to hire and train qualified caregivers who know and comply with the minimum standards. However, in this case, the Fort Worth daycare center failed this woman and her child because its negligence led to the wandering incident and the many missteps that followed the scary situation.
First, the little boy was left in the hands of an unqualified caregiver who routinely forgot to keep track of how many children were in the classroom and did not conduct mandatory face-to-name checks throughout the day. Both of these key safety requirements help prevent wandering incidents from happening.
Second, the Fort Worth daycare center did not have a secure premise. Doors were not locked or childproofed, and there was no proper monitoring in place from the workers or an alarm system to check if doors were opened. This lack of security and supervision allowed the little boy to exit the facility unnoticed.
Lastly, the Fort Worth daycare center workers failed to comply with the minimum standards when they realized the boy was missing. State laws dictate that the boy’s mother and the police should have been notified immediately. Instead, workers went to the daycare center’s parking lot and shouted the little boy’s name.
The Fort Worth daycare center also failed to complete an incident report with details about how the little boy was put in danger. A copy of the report should have been submitted to the boy’s mother and the state, which did not happen.
How the Fort Worth Daycare Center Was Held Accountable for This Wandering Incident
As you can imagine, this wandering incident at the Fort Worth daycare center was traumatizing for the toddler. He went to an unknown place, was found by an unknown person, and ended up in the hands of local police. While he was found safe, the aftermath of the incident left him with big feelings that he struggled to process. For example, he experienced nightmares, regressed in his potty training, and only wanted to wear a diaper.
Further changes occurred in his behavior. He became aggressive toward other children by hitting and biting them. This led to the boy getting expelled from two other facilities following the wandering incident at the Fort Worth daycare center.
Sadly, the wandering incident was not an isolated oversight at the Fort Worth daycare center. The facility had a history of noncompliance with the state’s minimum standards, receiving 11 citations over the course of three years. Some were for the same infractions that caused the boy’s wandering incident: lack of supervision, workers not completing training, and exceeding child-to-caregiver ratios.
Our North Texas daycare injury lawyers helped the boy and his family move forward with a settlement agreement. The Fort Worth daycare center was held accountable for its safety failures and compensated the family for all the damages they experienced so that they could move forward.
The Button Law Firm Can Help Your Family with a Daycare Wandering Case
If your child was able to wander away from a classroom or leave a daycare center’s premises unnoticed because caregivers neglected to follow daycare safety laws, contact our knowledgeable daycare injury attorneys at The Button Law Firm. With attorneys in Dallas, Houston, and Midland, we are ready to listen, fight for your family, and help your family move forward. Our attorneys at The Button Law Firm are recognized on the prestigious Texas Super Lawyers list, and we can help guide you after a traumatizing incident involving your child. We work on contingency, meaning we don’t charge you or collect any upfront fees to get started on your case. Call us at 214-699-4409, email [email protected], or fill out a contact form for a free case evaluation.
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